About a month ago I wrote a blog called “Back to School: Protect Your Child’s Identity”. In it I talked about an article I read by Colleen Tressler at the Federal Trade Commission that shared some great tips on how to keep your kiddo’s (and your own) identity safe. One of the recommendations was to use a shredder.

Okay, fine. That seems like a no-brainer, but what do you shred and what should you keep?

I went back to the FTC website, here is what I found:

When should I shred it? Immediately

Sales receipts

ATM receipts

Paid credit card statements

Credit Offers

Cancelled checks (that are not tax-related)

Expired warranties

When should I shred it? After 1 year

Pay stubs

Bank statements

Paid, undisputed medical bills

When should I shred it? After 7 years

Tax-related receipts

Tax-related cancelled checks

W-2s

Records for tax deductions taken

When should I shred it? It depends…

Auto titles – Keep as long as you own the vehicle

Home deeds – keep as long as you own the property

Disputed medical bills – Keep until the issue is resolved

Home improvement receipts – Keep until you sell your home and pay any capital gains taxes

When should I shred it? Never – Keep these locked up for safe keeping

Birth certificates

Social Security cards

Marriage or divorce decrees

Citizenship papers

Adoption papers

Death certificates

Tax returns

I just printed off this list and put a copy of it next to my shredder at home. I’ve got some clean-up to do. I hope you’ve found this as helpful as I have.

A. Alliance Collection Agency, Inc. is a full service, licensed accounts receivable management and debt collection agency providing highly effective, customized one on one management and recovery solutions for our business partners. Founded in northern Illinois in 2005, we have been proudly improving the bottom-line on behalf of our business partners in and around Chicagoland for over 13 years.